A Hope Renewed
by SWaddict1986
Summary: The Emperor may be dead, but life goes on. Luke worried about how he'll be able to continue with what he has learned. Characters: Luke, Han and Leia


**Title**: A Hope Renewed  
**WIP/Length**: Complete/1456 words  
**Timeframe**: Days after the end of ROTJ  
**Notes**: Srellet made me want to write another fic with Han & Leia  
**Disclaimer**: _Star Wars_ is owned by George Lucas and all the side companies. I am making no money off this.

* * *

The celebrations had finished, at least as far as the three of them were concerned. Their friends had headed off to either check on their families or take a much-needed vacation. They all knew that it wasn't over, but for now they allowed themselves to believe that peace was near. It was the only way to maintain whatever sanity they had left.

Luke sat at the table, drumming his fingers absentmindedly. He thought back over the past few days, wondering what he could have done differently. There must have been some way to learn more from Yoda, to save his father, to prevent so much death on Endor from happening…

He groaned and rubbed his temples before burying his face in his hands. It did no good to dwell on the past, but he felt so incredibly hopeless about what he was going to do. He knew that he needed to start the Jedi back up, but how? Luke knew that his boasts to Jabba were empty; he was no real Knight, despite what Yoda had said. No, there was still training to be had, and he was _alone_. Yoda was gone, he hadn't seen or heard Obi-Wan since he left Dagobah, and his father had died before Luke could even begin to know him.

It was all too much. There was no way he could do this on his own, and meditation wasn't helping.

He couldn't even bring himself to be happy that the Emperor was dead.

A small noise made Luke look up. He smiled at Leia, his worries slowly fading in her presence.

"Hi."

She smiled back and went to sit next to him.

"How's the _Falcon_ running?"

"Smooth, for once." Luke laughed softly, and Leia smiled at the sound. "How are you?"

Luke's smile dropped and his voice was flat. "I'm alive."

Leia sighed and touched his shoulder. "That doesn't tell me how you are."

Luke turned his eyes towards her, and then looked away, unsure of where to begin.

"I'm…conflicted. I think that's the best way to describe how I'm feeling. I wish Ben or Yoda were here to help me figure out what to do. I'm angry at myself for not being able to save Va—our father from death." He ignored Leia's cringe, knowing that she would come to terms with everything in her own time. "I'm glad that the reign of the Emperor is over, although I know that there is still a lot to fix with the Moffs and troops. I still wish there had been some way to bring him down without the deaths of innocents."

Leia was now rubbing his back, but remained silent.

"I'm thrilled to know that I still have family, and that the bond between us and Han is as strong as I could ever ask for." He looked at her again and smiled, this time allowing it to brighten his eyes. "It also explains a lot, including why I wasn't as focused on you in that gold bikini Jabba made you wear as I might have been years ago."

Leia smacked his shoulder, irritation flashing in her eyes.

"Shut up," she growled.

Han's laugh made them both look up at the doorway. "And I am glad to hear it." He pulled a chair next to Leia's and let his arm rest against the back of hers. He kissed her temple, instinctively glancing at Luke to see how jealous the boy was at their interaction. It was a relief that the competition the two silently had was now over. In addition, that he was the one who got the girl.

"You're right though, it does explain a lot. Like how Leia knew exactly where you were on Bespin."

"And how I knew it was right to follow him out of the first Death Star."

"And why I've always felt a strong connection to her, and fight well with her."

Han sat up and moved his arm from behind Leia. "However," he said, pointing at her. "It does _not_ explain that time on Hoth when you _kissed_ him."

Luke closed his eyes with a sigh as Leia flushed and struggled to find words.

"It—Han, it meant nothing. You know it meant nothing."

"Yeah, sure it doesn't _now_." He huffed and crossed his arms.

"I just wanted you to shut up."

"You just wanted me to shut up?" he repeated, arching one of his eyebrows.

"And be jealous," she muttered as she looked away from him.

"I knew it." Han allowed himself a quick smile. "But seriously, the two of you kissed."

"Not much," Luke said. "It was just a fairly short kiss on the lips. And it felt _wrong_. It truly did."

"Later on, in the _Falcon_, that was a real kiss." Leia reached over to hold Han's hands between hers. She waited for him to meet her gaze before continuing. "And you're the only person who I've ever wanted to kiss like that."

Luke made a face and stood up. "On that note, I'll leave you two alone."

Leia flushed, unaccustomed to being so forward, especially in front of family. "I'm sorry, Luke."

"Don't be." He smiled at the couple and started to leave.

"Kid, as much as I would like to be alone with your sister," Han said, dodging Leia's smack at the jibe, "We're not finished here."

"We're not?" The twins asked together.

"Sit."

Luke could only comply, looking at his friend curiously.

"I know you, and I know that when you leave this room you're going to brood, punishing yourself through seclusion, and wonder where you went wrong and how you can fix it all. You can't, you know you can't, so stop trying."

"You don't have to be so callous," Leia said. Luke continued looking at Han, and didn't say anything.

Han glanced at Leia. "I'm not being callous, just telling the truth." He turned back to Luke.

"Look, the old man went off to fight Vader on his own. The Jedi you found on Dagobah was long past his time. Nine hundred years old? Luke, he was going to kick it soon. You had no control over either of those."

Luke shrugged. It may be true, but he still wanted to change it.

"But you can't think that you need to take on the burden of carrying on some ancient religion just because a small group of people you happened to randomly meet belonged to it."

"I'm not doing it for them," Luke retorted. "I'm doing it for myself. And I'm doing it for the belief that more good will come to this galaxy when there are people of peace working together in it. A group who can effectively control their powers and understand them, not just people scattered through the universe."

Han sighed and shook his head. He opened his mouth to speak the first argument that came to mind, but Leia's hand on his arm stopped him. She reached out to hold Luke's hand as well.

"The two of you need to stop. The beginning of the end of the war has finally begun. We have something great to celebrate, and having the two men I love most fighting is not how I want this prospect of peace to start. Han, Luke is trying to make things better in the way he believes is best. Luke, Han wants you to choose your own path, and take things one step at a time."

The two men appraised each other, knowing that Leia was only taking the positive aspect of their quarrel, but neither said anything. She was right; it was much better to stay in a celebratory mood than to fight.

Leia had stopped talking and waited for the other two to gather their thoughts. Luke sighed and patted her hand with his free one.

"Love you, Leia."

She smiled at him and turned to Han, wondering if she truly won this round.

"Yeah, me too," he said with his trademark grin.

"Good." She sat back, glad that the crisis was averted.

"Now," Han said. "Can Luke leave?" The grin spread across his face as Leia flushed again and Luke laughed.

"Sure. And I promise not to brood."

"Good!"

Luke was nearly out of the room when Leia called his name. He turned around and gave her a questioning look.

"No matter what you decide to do, you won't be alone. I'll always be here for you."

Han waved a hand in the air as if to say, "Same with me," and Luke nodded gratefully at them both before leaving.

He may have high goals, and it would be a lot of work, but he was far from hopeless. And he would never be alone.


End file.
